I would without worry.
Euro oil choices for an engine with higher than normal operating temperatures.
- Thread starter Bill7
- Start date
It's primarily heat - more RPM = more heat. My car will sit at 270-280deg F for 20+ min while on track. You want as much protection as possible in that scenario. Your situation isn't anywhere close to this level of abuse. Any basic oil really is ok for you here and if you are concerned just shorten the OCI which is what you were already doing. A 5qt of the QS Euro 5W40 is only a few more bucks than ST. This concern with the variable cylinder management w/r to heat seems unfounded; just defeat it and problem solved.
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I used to own a 1994 VW Passat with the VR6 engine.
it was known to run hot on the pil.
As a result VW recommmeded in the manual 20w-50 as summer oil and 15w40 as winter oil, though in Minneosta I ran 10w-40 Valvoline Durablend with ACEA A3 approval and in summer M1 15w-50. ( there were no good 5w-40s, 0w-40s available back then).
Oil temps even in winter would be above 230F ( as indicated by the digital oil temp read out in the car) and hard accleration up a ramp in summer would get the oil up to 260 F if memory serves.
Any ACEA A3 oil will be sufficent preferably a Xw-40.
I dont know where you live, but in high summer in the US South, I would run M1 15w-50 as I did for many years with my VW VR6 even in northern summers.
it was known to run hot on the pil.
As a result VW recommmeded in the manual 20w-50 as summer oil and 15w40 as winter oil, though in Minneosta I ran 10w-40 Valvoline Durablend with ACEA A3 approval and in summer M1 15w-50. ( there were no good 5w-40s, 0w-40s available back then).
Oil temps even in winter would be above 230F ( as indicated by the digital oil temp read out in the car) and hard accleration up a ramp in summer would get the oil up to 260 F if memory serves.
Any ACEA A3 oil will be sufficent preferably a Xw-40.
I dont know where you live, but in high summer in the US South, I would run M1 15w-50 as I did for many years with my VW VR6 even in northern summers.
Yes, I think the majority of issues with varnish/sludge in these Honda J35 V-6's with VCM enabled came with people using conventional 5W-20 oil and following the maintenance minder. Using a HTHS = 3.5 Euro oil (with a MB 229.5x and Porsche A40 approval) should really help to keep these engines clean (without sludge/varnish).
Agreed. My neighbor had an '09 (and I had an '06) Odyssey...hers was dead after 175K b/c of heavy oil consumption and guess what...crappy chain place oil changes likely with basic conv. oil.
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I used to consider the oil temp of my 2002 Jaguar XKR to be on the high side, as it would get up to 235-240 F when stuck in traffic during the hottest summer days. But it would always come down to 220-230 at highway speeds of 70-90 mph.
But after reading some of these posts, I’m reassured that a good 40 wt oil (M-1 0w-40 FS) is easily up to the task.
You guys running on the track with oil temperatures over 250 F, do you have an oil cooler thats thermostatically controlled ? And what is your oil capacity ?
Just curious.
Z
But after reading some of these posts, I’m reassured that a good 40 wt oil (M-1 0w-40 FS) is easily up to the task.
You guys running on the track with oil temperatures over 250 F, do you have an oil cooler thats thermostatically controlled ? And what is your oil capacity ?
Just curious.
Z
edyvw
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This engine is far from that VR6. Pilot I have, of 102,000 miles, spent 98,000 in Las Vegas using 5W20. However, Colorado altitude is actually more challenging cooling wise.
Oil cooler is only heat exchanger with the cooling system (so a warmer too). 6qt capacity. No external radiator-style oil cooler...yet.
Money no object I would recommend Motul
All your choices would also likely work fine.
All your choices would also likely work fine.
my ‘02 XKR came with a factory equipped external oil cooler with its own thermostat. Which begins to open 217 F and doesn’t fully open until 246F. So Jaguar must not be too concerned with oil temperatures that I was thinking were too high. Oil capacity is 7.5 liters, nearly 8 quarts. A goodly amount for a smallish engine .
btw, It’s a supercharged small V-8 of 4 liters. Not a sports car (too heavy) but a nice GT. So far it’s its aging gracefully with no reliability issues.
A nearly identical Jaguar model, the XK8 (no supercharger) does not come with the factory oil cooler.
I think, in general, it’s best to avoid track oil for street use. The HTHS and viscosity may be there in a track/racing oil, but the additives are all wrong for any kind of reasonable time in service. The Mobil 1 0W40 holds up for 10,000 miles with ease in my MB and would be among my recommendations for an engine that sees abnormally high oil temps. It’s readily available and relatively inexpensive for what it is. Of course, HPL will hold up well in this application.
But I wonder what the “locally high” oil temps really mean? Where is the data to support the claim? Is it really locally high, was it measured? Or have they inferred that temperature from oil deposits, which may have another cause, such as the inadequate PCV?
Would it not be simpler to get the VCM disabled if you believe that is the root cause of this problem?
Final thought - my kid brother has an Odyssey with this engine. Has not installed a VCM disabler. Changes his oil at 5,000 miles with regular 5W30 Mobil 1. 240,000 miles. No problems.
This. I had an '06 that I had sold in 2018 with 135K miles, no drama, no disabler (just several rounds of v. expensive motor mounts haha). I never thought these V6s were particuarly hard on oil, 5K with conventional is all I ever did.
I disabled the VCM on the 19. I use Amsoil SS 0W20 and follow the olm. No issues. I also use Redline SL1 at 60% and 20% olm.
4WD
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I have a jug of that M1 0W40 SN - might be a bit high on Ca - also have 5 individual quarts of M1 Super car - so 5/3 quarts in a 5.3L DFI not crazy ?
Otherwise I can do 3/5 quarts and 2 left for lawn mower …?
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
4WD
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I’ll do majority Super Car since the motor is GDI …Not sure if 5.3 has any issues with Ca levels. I would just mix however feels warmer around the heart
Just cleaning shelves and the mowers can only help a little …
Disable the VCM?
I prefer to keep the VCM enabled, to save gas. With the Gen 1 VCM: 2005-2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L's, the main issues are varnish on the cylinder heads below the valve cover, sludge for short trippers in Winter only, and increased risk of engine mounts failing.
Since my three Odysseys are not short tripped, no risk of sludge. The varnish under the valve cover has no negative effects and can be cleaned with four 5,000 mile oil changes with Valvoline Restore and Protect. The engine mount issue did hurt me once, where my 2006 Honda Odyssey EX-L had to have 2 engine mounts replaced. I was able to find a full set of 5 engine / transmission mounts on Amazon for about $150 total. They are aftermarket, but look just like the genuine Honda ones that cost $1,000+.
I've had good luck doing 5,000 mile / 6 month (whichever comes first) oil changes with the Dexos 1 Gen 3 approved Super Tech High Mileage Full Synthetic 5w30. That Dexos approval sets stricter limits for Sludge and Varnish deposits than API SP. I only use 5w30 in these, as the thicker oil performs better with the high heat on the cylinder heads.
We had an '06 EX-L...I think we went through 3 of those front mounts.
In our case, it was 1 repair, where 2 mounts were replaced at the same time.
On Amazon they sell a kit of 5 mounts for $150 total, so I just handed all those to the mechanic and asked him to replace whichever ones it needed. The mechanic had a hard time with the labor, due to rusted bolts, as he wanted to be careful as braking the bolts could cause larger issues.
I've done quite a bit of research based on those who have sludge issues in these engines.
Based on what I can tell, as long as you do 5,000 mile / 6 month OCI with full synthetic oil, the only people who get the bad case of sludge are the ones that do short tripping in cold weather. If you don't short trip, the only 2 issues to worry about are varnish on the cylinder heads and a higher failure rate for engine mounts.
For what it's worth, only my 2006 needed the engine mount replacement.
My two 2007 Odyssey's didn't need any engine mount replacements at all. Perhaps Honda fixed that issue with the 2007 model year minor refresh of getting the newer Automatic Transmission from the Ridgeline. All three of my 2006-2007 Honda Odysseys all have over 165k miles on them, but only the 2006 was affected so far with the engine mount issue.
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